Cool Wheels

They fit me and imho the car as well.

And if you really want to see, first hand, how unsprung weight reduction affects acceleration and handling, ride a bicycle (yes, a bicycle) with steel rims, hubs and spokes with, say 1-1/4" road tires mounted.  Try accelerating on a flat road, then try climbing a hill and come down the hill on some moderate curves to get the feel.  You'll probably think they are pretty good.

Then, do the same ride with lightweight aluminum hubs and rims, lightweight spokes (same number of them), and 1" road tires.  The difference will amaze you, especially the acceleration, but handling improves a lot.

THEN, do the same ride with carbon fiber hubs and rims, half as many "Aero" (flat) spokes and competition tires (about 3/4" wide but half as thick and at 120 lbs. pressure).  That combo will blow your mind.  Not only do they accelerate like a jack rabbit, but by the time you've thought about making a turn, the bike is already there.  The handling response is amazing.

THAT is what unsprung weight improvements can do and, as Stan said, not many in the VW aftermarket business are paying any attention to it.

As professional bicycle riders say, if you want to drop three pounds from your bike, leave your water bottles at home.  If you want to win races, get better legs (=more HP) and lighter wheels.

Besides the quicker up/down suspension reaction that improves both grip and ride quality, lighter components also affect acceleration/deceleration and fuel economy due to less inertia of the rotating parts. If you've ever compared an engine with a standard flywheel vs one with a lightened flywheel, you'll know how much even a few pounds of weight reduction of rotating parts affects how quickly things can speed up and slow down.

Assuming you're not going crazy with exotic materials like titanium or carbon fiber or doing ground-up reengineering on everything, there's 4 main items you can change to reduce unsprung weight: brake rotors, calipers, wheels, and tires. A 2 or 3-piece rotor with an aluminum hat (Airkewld BAD series, for example) can save 4-5 pounds over a stock steel rotor. Using an aluminum caliper (Wilwood, for example) will save another couple pounds. Using a good forged aluminum or magnesium wheel could save 5-20 pounds depending on what you're comparing it to. Using a smaller diameter wheel (because metal is heavier than rubber) will save weight and reduce the moment of inertia. Using a smaller diameter tire as well as choosing the lightest tire among the various brands and models will save weight and reduce the moment of inertia. 

But the main problem reducing the effectiveness of these upgrades is that the car's sprung mass is quite low so you have a higher than normal unsprung to sprung mass ratio even when lightweight and therefore expensive suspension, brakes, and wheels are used. Even if you do spend extra for lighter brakes and wheels, you must accept that you're never going to get as nice a ride as you could get with a heavier car. Counter to the typical mantra of "lighter is better", as many here have found, adding additional sprung weight to the front of the car is a fast and cheap way to improve how it rides and drives.

Unsprung weight is best demonstrated by the additional effort required by me to upright myself in the Barco Lounger! 

Although they're 4 bolt and, as Glenn Ring would say, they scream kit car, Mahle baby burners or Pedrinis are great wheels for the performance-minded enthusiast. I've had both - stuck with the Mahles - and love them. You really can feel the difference when comparing to stock. I think they look awesome. A set will cost you less than one of the fancy Coddington wheels or one OEM 5-1/2 Fuchs.

Terry;

What is your opinion of the Fuchs, 914, 2.0 ltr. ?  Loaded  question, yes,  that is what I have. Not sure why Ring would say these scream kit car?? I can't afford five wide, techno mag.,  et al.

I guess I am lucky I got something I like!

Rusty S posted:

Will Hesch posted:

...that's why really good (expensive) shock absorbers are so important on our cars...

So what is a good shock absorber for our cars that won't result in a stiff ride?

I can only think of 1....Koni Reds.

I have a set on my IM.  I set the fronts to full soft and the rears to 3/4 hard.

3/4 hard setting, along with my kafer bar, gives the back of the car a bit of a stiff ride, but I like the control it gives me.

Koni's nowdays, we used to use Bilsteins back in the day...

art posted:

Terry;

 

What is your opinion of the Fuchs, 914, 2.0 ltr. ?  Loaded  question, yes,  that is what I have. Not sure why Ring would say these scream kit car?? I can't afford five wide, techno mag.,  et al.

I guess I am lucky I got something I like!

Art, I had a set of 914 Fuchs as well. I like them but I didn't like the way they looked on Penny. The ones that I had were fake Fuchs so they were heavy compared to the real ones.

I'm just giving Glenn a hard time. He made that comment about my car years ago on the Samba. He's right, of course. But anybody who knows me or has seen Penny realize that I embrace my fakeness. 

Will Hesch posted:

Koni's nowdays, we used to use Bilsteins back in the day...

Bilsteins make a Speedster (or beetle, for that matter) ride really hard because they're valved all wrong. Some time ago the people who make them decided that they sold so many for off road (and so few for VW street cars) that the street shocks ceased to be a regularly stocked catalogue item, and the company no longer has records of the valving and settings used. For a small fee they can be custom valved- a year or so ago there was a guy on the Samba (I have his name written down somewhere) who knew who to talk to and was working on getting a set done for his car, but I don't think he's reported back yet with results. 

I am also under the impression that a properly valved Bilstein is a superior dampener, and am waiting to hear how it works out. Al

PS- One nice thing about Bilsteins is that they are rebuildable, so theoretically you'd never buy another set of shock absorbers again.

"The ones that I had were fake Fuchs so they were heavy compared to the real ones."

I believe there's a 4 1/2 or 5 lb. difference between the original forged (way stronger) and the cast copies.

Jim...You just need a "shock" to assist in overcoming gravity !.....Bruce

Tom, if you are going for the wide5 look, and new brakes, I can recommend my setup.

Airkewld wide5, 4 piston Wilwood alu caliper up front, single piston heavy iron caliper rear(got to have an e-brake), aluminum hubs(that have a changeable bolt pattern!). Finished off with blanchard-ground iron rotors.

Wheels are brand new cast aluminum wide 5 in 4.5/5.5 and weigh no more than 10 pounds each. Go to the Vintage Motorcars FB page for pictures. These are I think $179 each and come bare or silver powdercoat.

The brakes are a little more than $2K, but I beat the living snot out of them for 2 hours of very close to the limit street driving and they didn't fade, at all.

Plus, you can choose P 5x130, wide5, or Ford, Chevy, whatever. I think the only thing you can't get is 4 x 130. And you can swap that out. They also come with a new master and braided brake lines. Best pedal and modulation I've ever had.

Danny, How long have you had the Airkewld brakes?  Any problems?

Rusty S posted:

Here's a couple of pics of Greg's new wheels on my car - these are the powder coated grey version:

 

 

Hello All,

The wheels are about 10lbs lighter each than the steel wide 5.  They are considered a 12lb wheel.  They come in 4.5 and 5.5 wide and they are going to retail for $179 each. 

Really not much to say other than they are the best bang for your buck. 

Full inventory expected in 2 weeks. 

Can somebody hook me up with a photo shop of these on Natalie?

Bill,

Perhaps it is photo angle and lens.  But this looks like a 911, massaged to look like a 356? In any event look great!

Tom,   The rims are cool but the reason it looks badass is the old school high profile tires.  

Rusty - Those look great.  IMHO I think painting the wheel drums to match the body color would really highlight the new wheels. 

It looks all wheel and no tire to me..

Alex,

Are you going to do any 5x130 and 4x130 or just the wide 5's?

id do the lugnuts black against the silver wheels, maybe even black studs/nuts

barncobob posted:

id do the lugnuts black against the silver wheels, maybe even black studs/nuts

I like the way you think :-)

Rusty S posted:

I don't know the weight but they are a little lighter than those steel wide five that I had.

You know you are going to keep those, right?

They look awesome on your car!

I think is the way I'm going

Tom Williams posted:

Alex,

Are you going to do any 5x130 and 4x130 or just the wide 5's?

No, we are just doing wide 5.  Its the gap in the market we are filling.  There are tons of 4x130 and  5x130 options out there. 

We just thought it would be good to have a good quality wheel in the wide 5 at a reasonable price that mimics an original.  Everyone one knows the issues with the steel wide5s we are having. 

Gotta ask.

Any plans for 16", or for more widths/offsets?